Choosing your Elden Ring class is a major decision you need to make when creating your character, so it's good to choose the right one for you, especially as it cannot be changed. The main benefit of each class is that they come with their own pre-allocated Attribute levels, weapons, and armor, helping you lean into a specific Elden Ring combat style right from the start. But with 12 classes to choose from in the Tarnished Edition of the game, each with their own starting weapons, armor, and stats, there's a lot to consider before you've even started playing. To help you begin, I've explained how each of the Elden Ring classes work below and have laid out which ones are best for new players.
Best Elden Ring classes for beginners ranked
While selecting your Elden Ring class might be a tricky decision, bear in mind that your choice does not lock you into or out of anything and you can freely level up any of your Elden Ring Attributes as you play. For example, if you pick a class with high Strength, you're not forced to use only Strength-scaling weapons, but if want to use Sorceries, you'll have to put a lot of effort into upping your Intelligence first. You also need to choose an Elden Ring Keepsake to start with as part of character creation.
That means, in the long run, your class doesn't matter that much, especially since you can even respec in Elden Ring using a Larval Tear, resetting all your Attributes (be aware that respecing resets your Attributes to their default levels for your class, not all the way to zero!), but your chosen class still serves as a useful headstart for how you want to play.
With all that in mind, here are the best Elden Ring classes to choose as a new player:
- Vagabond: Has the highest starting Vigor and is a great all-rounder for any melee weapon.
- Samurai: Solid Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity makes the Samurai a great starting point for melee-focused players.
- Idus Knight: Sitting between the Samurai and Confessor, the Idus Knight's solid Dexterity and Strength mean they can wield a variety of weapons.
- Confessor: High starting Faith closely followed by Mind, Dexterity, and Strength means the Confessor is great for Incantations but also highly versatile when it comes to weapons.
- Prisoner: Starts with high Dexterity and Intelligence, making the Prisoner a good choice if you're unsure if you want to fight with melee weapons or Sorceries.
Classes like the Hero, Warrior, Astrologer, and Prophet aren't necessarily bad but are focused on very specific playstyles, particularly in terms of Attributes – for example, the Hero's high Strength means they're best for wielding colossal weapons. That means these classes lack flexibility and are only worth picking if you’re absolutely sure you want to play in a certain way. As for the Bandit and Wretch, these classes aren't worth picking at all for new players as they start with very few notable advantages.
Regardless of which class you choose my general advice for all players is to upgrade your Vigor and Endurance early to increase your health and stamina, letting you take more hits before dying and dodge and block more. Upgrading Endurance has the secondary benefit of upping your maximum equipment load to help you roll faster with lots of heavy gear equipped too. Then, once you've got a feel for a few different weapons, start leveling up Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Faith as appropriate.
Heavy Knight
- Highest stats: Endurance, Strength
- Starting gear: Colossal scimitar and bulky steel armor set
The Heavy Knight is one of the classes added as part of the Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring and seems like a decent one for beginners with good Vigor and especially high Endurance and Strength. It's geared towards wielding massive melee weapons like the Hero, but robust armor means you should be well-protected with plenty of Poise too. The major downside is all that armor will almost certainly force you to heavy roll when dodging, which is a nightmarish detriment against bosses.
Idus Knight
- Highest stats: Dexterity, Strength
- Starting gear: Sword, shield, and Idus Knight armor set
The Idus Knight's Attributes are quite similar to that of the Samurai, save for higher Faith in favor of slightly less Vigor and Endurance. It means that this class is also very versatile, with the option of speccing into Incantations as well if you fancy a bit of magic. Overall, this seems like another excellent starting class for beginners!
Vagabond
- Highest stats: Vigor, Strength
- Starting gear: Longsword, Halberd, Heater Shield, and Vagabond Knight armor set
The Vagabond is a very beginner-friendly Elden Ring class due to being a melee weapon all-rounder – that also means they can use some of the best early Elden Ring weapons. Melee builds are generally easy to pick up without having to familiarize yourself with loads of in-game systems, making them great for players unaccustomed to FromSoftware gameplay. The Vagabond’s high starting Vigor also means you can take a fair few hits before dying and the good Strength and Dexterity gives allows you to try all sorts of melee armaments before settling on a type you like.
Warrior
- Highest stats: Dexterity, Mind
- Starting gear: 2 Scimitars, Riveted Wooden Shield, Blue Cloth Cowl and Vest, and Warrior Gauntlets and Grieves
The Warrior is the Dexterity expert of Elden Ring, so lighter melee weapons that require a bit of finesse or ranged weapons will be your go-to armaments. Starting with two swords and shield gives you a good opportunity to try out dual-wielding but you can also opt for a classic sword-and-shield loadout that makes good use of guard counters and parrying.
Hero
- Highest stats: Strength, Vigor
- Starting gear: Battle Axe, Large Leather Shield, and Champion armour set
Choosing the Hero class means you’ll be focusing on all-out Strength with this Elden Ring. Serving as the opposite to the Warrior class, Hero specializes in using heavier weapons with slow attacks that deal massive damage. Putting even more points into Strength will help you meet the requirements for some truly hefty Strength-based weapons early on. But their Intelligence and Faith are very low, so magic won't be an option without considerable investment.
Bandit
- Highest stats: Arcane, Dexterity
- Starting gear: Great Knife, Shortbow, Bone Arrows, Buckler Shield, and Bandit armour set
The Bandit class is Elden Ring’s stealth assassin. With a Great Knife, Shortbow and arrows, and a Buckler Shield, they have many offensive and defensive options early on, but none of them are that good, especially for new players. Avoid battling groups of enemies and learn how to parry using the Buckler Shield for success. You'll also want to get weapons that inflict Bleed or Poison to make the most of the high Arcane Attribute.
Astrologer
- Highest stats: Intelligence, Mind
- Starting gear: Astrologer's Staff with Glintstone Pebble and Glintstone Arc, Short Sword, Scripture Wooden Shield, and Astrologer armor set
The Elden Ring Astrologer class is one of the few class options built for magic from the start, specifically Intelligence-based Sorceries that require a staff. While magic can be very powerful in Elden Ring, make no mistake that it can be complicated to use as you've also got to cast your spells wisely so as not to leave yourself open to attack or chew through your FP.
Prophet
- Highest stats: Faith, Mind
- Starting gear: Finger Seal with Heal and Catch Flame, Short Spear, Rickety Shield, and Prophet armor set
The Elden Ring Prophet class is the other side of the magic coin, focusing instead on Faith-based Incantations. They're marginally better equipped compared to the Astrologer thanks to slightly more balanced Attributes and a healing Incantation right off the bat, but they're still not the best for beginners due to their lack of melee power and the complexities that come with choosing your Incantations.
Samurai
- Highest stats: Dexterity, Endurance
- Starting gear: Uchigatana, Longbow, Red Thorn Roundshield, Arrows, Fire Arrows, and Land of Reeds armor set
The Samurai class in Elden Ring is essentially a better-balanced version of the Warrior. They also have high Dexterity but combined with solid, Vigor, Endurance, and Strength. It means it's a very flexible class and can be taken in almost any direction when it comes to melee and ranged weapon fighting.
Prisoner
- Highest stats: Dexterity, Intelligence
- Starting gear: Glintstone Staff with Magic Glintblade, Estoc thrusting sword, Rift Shield, and Prisoner armor set
Combining the best of the Warrior and Astrologer, the Prisoner Elden Ring class, is geared towards Dexterity-based melee fighting and Intelligence-based magic for a sword-and-sorceries build. Although the low starting Vigor and Endurance are a bit of a downside, so you'll need to be cautious when fighting up close and against groups. Otherwise, this is a solid class to pick if you can't decide if you want to use weapons or magic as you can use both or eventually spec into one or the other.
Confessor
- Highest stats: Faith, Mind
- Starting gear: Finger Seal with Urgent Heal and Assassin's Approach, Broadsword, Blue Crest Heater Shield, and Confessor armor set
The Elden Ring Confessor blends balanced melee weapon fighting with high Faith for another magic-and-melee-oriented class. A base Strength and Dexterity of 12 means there’s a lot of freedom in which weapons you can use and you have the bonus of being able to buff yourself with Incantations. Learning how these systems mingle can be a bit complicated, but it's a very good starting class overall due to its flexibility.
Wretch
- Highest stats: None
- Starting gear: Club
The most basic, blank-slate Elden Ring class there is. Wretches start with 10s across the board in all Attributes, no armor, and only a measly club to beat enemies with. This obviously puts you at a massive initial disadvantage, forcing you to use whatever else you can find as you explore the Lands Between, but the upshot is that you have total build freedom for when it's time to level up. This class is only recommended for players with a lot of experience with Elden Ring or previous FromSoftware games!
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